Documentary and Discussion on Guaranteed Universal Basic Income

OCCUPY

By Peter Weisberg

The nature of work is changing exponentially. While it’s true that the nature of work has changed throughout history, the technological age has accelerated the rate of change at a pace never seen before. Artificial intelligence, robotics, and a host of technological advances are opening up a slew of questions and options about who and how we define our lives as humans.

Estimates are being put forward that anywhere from 28 to 80 percent of current jobs will be supplanted by AI and robotics. Most experts agree that while new jobs will be created, they will not offset those lost forever. Science alone will not save us. And it’s not only technological advances that are shaping these changes. Economic inequality, social justice movements, human migrations, climate change, the reality of global community, and connectivity are all factors in this nexus of a complex web leading to the future. These forces are pushing us toward great uncertainty and massive social unrest, and whether that creates more authoritarian regimes or a more egalitarian society remains to be seen.

Universal Basic Income (UBI) or Guaranteed Basic Income (GBI) is fast becoming a hot topic with those in industry, governments, and civil society.

The idea of providing a minimum, unconditional income for every person so that their most basic needs are being met is being embraced by a wide spectrum of people from the political right to the left, undoubtedly for very different reasons.

Experiments in Finland, Kenya, Canada, Switzerland, the US, and other countries are currently underway. But the questions of who will frame the issue, set the guidelines, the moral underpinnings, and determine how UBI is paid for, are still up in the air. GBI/UBI can be an agent for social and economic justice or a lifeline for an economic system built on inequality and consumerism. Will it be a method whereby the economic system as we currently know it can prop itself up in the face of a reduced and potentially restless workforce? Or could it herald a renaissance of creativity, with humans redefining how they create happiness and meaning in their lives as their attachments to work are diminished?

San Miguel de Allende, with many of us living on social security, in some ways points toward the potential of a GBI. The number of people here who reinvent their lives, participate in NGOs, and expand their altruistic selves is truly amazing.

Join us Monday, May 7,for a far-ranging discussion and video presentation on Guaranteed Universal Basic Income and the importance of participating in the shaping of this important issue. Quinta Loreto Hotel TV room at 1pm, free. Our events are open to all.